The iPhone 6S Is The New Big Brother Listening

“So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause” - Star Wars.

So what’s the problem? Well, frankly, Apple has done an excellent job marketing (because after all, that is what they primarily do) this automated surveillance system.

At Apple’s September event on Wednesday, we got quite a few new announcements. But chief among them (because frankly, this was Apple’s only original, new idea) was Live Photos.

Apple says that a still photo only captures one instant frozen in time. But “with Live Photos, you can turn those instants into unforgettable living memories. At the heart of a Live Photo is a beautiful 12‑megapixel photo. But together with that photo are the moments just before and after it was taken, captured with movement and sound”.

By recording 1.5 seconds before and after the photo, users are given a recorded moment - with movement and sound.

But you know what the scariest part of this is? That your iPhone is always already recording your audio and movements, if it can manage to record 1.5 seconds of multimedia before you even press the shutter button.

So what’s the problem? Well, frankly, Apple has done an excellent job marketing (because after all, that is what they primarily do) this automated surveillance system.

This “newly enhanced feature” automatically records a constant stream of visual and audio data - in fact, whenever the camera app is in the use. Even if you don’t want a video, your new iPhone camera will be set to do this anyways.

Sure, you can opt-out, but the point is rather, why isn’t it opt-in?

But you know what the scariest part of this is? That your iPhone is always already recording your audio and movements, if it can manage to record 1.5 seconds of multimedia before you even press the shutter button.

For those not terrified enough, let us not forget that Siri also got a new “upgrade”. Before Wednesday, only iPhones charging could say “Hey Siri” and receive a response. But now the iPhone has default capability to say “Hey Siri” at any time in order to activate her. Which means, of course, that your iPhone is always listening for that phrase. I wonder how many others?

This isn’t Apple’s first dalliance with creepiness. Especially in their early years, Apple absolutely loved to censor anything from WikiLeaks to Playboy.

But this invasion of privacy is beyond anything the Cupertino firm has cooked up so far, and the worst part? The masses are singing their praises. They couldn’t love the iPhone 6S more; “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause” - Star Wars.

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